Category: Hosea

In the final chapter, Hosea opens with a plea to Israel, telling them to return to God.

Joel 2:13: Let your broken heart show your sorrow; tearing your clothes is not enough.” Come back to the Lord your God. He is kind and full of mercy; he is patient and keeps his promise; he is always ready to forgive and not punish. GNT

Psalm 51:16-17: You do not want sacrifices, or I would offer them; you are not pleased with burnt offerings. My sacrifice is a humble spirit, O God; you will not reject a humble and repentant heart. GNT

God then promises to bring His people back to Him and love them with all of His heart. Despite their sins, He is no longer angry with them and will care for them and they will live and thrive under His protection.

Jeremiah 14:7: My people cry out to me, ‘Even though our sins accuse us, help us, Lord, as you have promised. We have turned away from you many times; we have sinned against you. GNT

He will answer their prayers and shelter them. The Israelites will no longer have anything to do with idols and God will be the source of their blessings.

Hosea then gives this charge at the end of the chapter: May those who are wise understand what is written here, and may they take it to heart. The Lord’s ways are right, and righteous people live by following them, but sinners stumble and fall because they ignore them.

Psalm 111:7-8: In all he does he is faithful and just; all his commands are dependable. They last for all time; they were given in truth and righteousness. GNT

I believe Hosea can be summed up like this. God loves His people and will accept them back, even if He’s punished them for their sins. We just need to be faithful and follow Him.

Like this:

Ephraim was once looked up to in Israel but now they worship Baal and other metal idols. They come up with images to worship, kiss, and offer sacrifices to. So the people of Ephraim and Israel will die because of their idol worship.

Their lives are short and vanish in the heat of the sun, the heat of their sin. ‘Like chaff blown off from a threshing floor’ (vs 3) the Israelites will disappear because of their wickedness.

God reminds them that He is their Lord and they should have no other God besides Him. He reminds them that He is their Savior alone and only He provided for them.

Isaiah 43:11: “I alone am the Lord, the only one who can save you. GNT

Deut. 2:7: “Remember how the Lord your God has blessed you in everything that you have done. He has taken care of you as you wandered through this vast desert. He has been with you these forty years, and you have had everything you needed. GNT

Through Hosea, He tells them He will destroy them because now they’re proud. They have forgotten how He rescued them and cared for them. So, ‘like a lion’, ‘leopard’ or a ‘bear deprived of her cubs’ (vs 7-8) God says He will tear the Israelites to pieces and will devour them.

They asked for a king but he cannot save them. None of the kings, princes, or judges God gave them will be able to save them. In His anger, God gave them a king and in His anger He will take the king away. He tells them that help can only come from Him, their true King.

1 Samuel 8:5-7: and said to him, “Look, you are getting old and your sons don’t follow your example. So then, appoint a king to rule over us, so that we will have a king, as other countries have.” Samuel was displeased with their request for a king; so he prayed to the Lord, and the Lord said, “Listen to everything the people say to you. You are not the one they have rejected; I am the one they have rejected as their king. GNT

If only the Israelites would turn from their wickedness, and choose love and obedience, then they will be saved. But they are too stubborn and foolish, ‘like a child about to be born, who refuses to come out of the womb.’ (vs 13)

Micah 4:9-10: Why do you cry out so loudly? Why are you suffering like a woman in labor? Is it because you have no king, and your counselors are dead? Twist and groan, people of Jerusalem, like a woman giving birth, for now you will have to leave the city and live in the open country. You will have to go to Babylon, but there the Lord will save you from your enemies. GNT

Samaria and Israel will be punished for their rebellion. God will allow death and destruction and plagues to kill the people. They will die in war, while babies and pregnant women are dashed to the ground and torn open.

Yikes. That’s a harsh way to end the chapter. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

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The people of Israel work all day but it’s all useless. Treachery and violence abound as they make treaties with Assyria and Egypt.

God accuses Judah and Israel and will punish them for the way they act and what they’ve done.

Hosea recounts how Jacob struggled with Esau and fought against God and an angel. He asked for a blessing and spoke with God.

He tells people to return to God and trust Him and be loyal and just. He tells them to be patient and wait for God to act, something everyone needs to do these days. Sometimes there are times we need to wait for God to act and be patient. His timing is different from ours and we need to be patient and wait for Him and while we wait, be loyal to Him.

God says that the Israelites are so corrupt, they’re as bad as the Canaanites and cheat customers with scales. They claim they’re rich and got their fortunes honestly. However, God will make them live in tents again just as they did after they were led out of Egypt instead of their fancy houses bought with dishonest gain.

God should be our number one provider because everything we have, He has blessed us with. He alone gives us what we need and in our desperate times, we must remember that He is always with us and will always give us what we need when we need it.

Matthew 6:31-34: “So do not start worrying: ‘Where will my food come from? or my drink? or my clothes?’ (These are the things the pagans are always concerned about.) Your Father in heaven knows that you need all these things. Instead, be concerned above everything else with the Kingdom of God and with what he requires of you, and he will provide you with all these other things. So do not worry about tomorrow; it will have enough worries of its own. There is no need to add to the troubles each day brings. GNT

God spoke to the prophets and gave them visions. He also sent the Israelites warnings through them. But those in Gilead and Gilgal worshiped and sacrificed to idols instead of the Lord who saved them. They will die and the altars will become piles of stone.

2 Kings 17:13: The Lord had sent his messengers and prophets to warn Israel and Judah: “Abandon your evil ways and obey my commands, which are contained in the Law I gave to your ancestors and which I handed on to you through my servants the prophets.” GNT

So everything they’ve worked for will turn to ruin because they don’t do it for God and they don’t worship Him. They receive their punishment because they don’t obey His commands.

Hosea tells of how Jacob traveled to Mesopotamia and worked for a man to get a wife. He tells how God sent a prophet, Moses, to rescue the slaves in Egypt and care for them. Perhaps he mentions these things because he’s showing how God has moved through the Israelites history to bring them to this moment. Could also be that he is giving these examples of obedience and love. If you love God, you will obey Him, just as Jacob did, who became Israel, and Moses did, who shepherded God’s people out of Egypt and slavery.

The Israelites have angered the Lord and made him ‘bitterly angry’ (vs 14) through their disobedience. They no longer love Him like they should. Verse 14 also says ‘they deserve death for their crimes’.

Ezekiel 18:10-13: “Then suppose this man has a son who robs and kills, who does any of these things that the father never did. He eats sacrifices offered at forbidden shrines and seduces other men’s wives. He cheats the poor, he robs, he keeps what a borrower gives him as security. He goes to pagan shrines, worships disgusting idols, and lends money for profit. Will he live? No, he will not. He has done all these disgusting things, and so he will die. He will be to blame for his own death. GNT

Through Hosea, God says He will punish them for the disgrace they’ve brought Him.

What did you think of this chapter? Share your thoughts in the comments below! We’re almost done with Hosea!!

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God says that He’s loved Israel from the beginning. Verse 1 is also a prophecy on when Joseph was called to take Mary and Jesus out of Egypt because it was safe to leave.

Matthew 2:15: where he stayed until Herod died. This was done to make come true what the Lord had said through the prophet, “I called my Son out of Egypt.” GNT

False gods and idolatry called to their fleshly desires. So despite His love, they left God to sacrifice to Baal and other carved images.

2 Kings 17:13-15: The Lord had sent his messengers and prophets to warn Israel and Judah: “Abandon your evil ways and obey my commands, which are contained in the Law I gave to your ancestors and which I handed on to you through my servants the prophets.” But they would not obey; they were stubborn like their ancestors, who had not trusted in the Lord their God. They refused to obey his instructions, they did not keep the covenant he had made with their ancestors, and they disregarded his warnings. They worshiped worthless idols and became worthless themselves, and they followed the customs of the surrounding nations, disobeying the Lord’s command not to imitate them. GNT

Despite God being there for them from the very beginning and healing their sickness, they left Him. God led them gently and with love, removing their burdens and yoke of slavery. He fed them, face to face, like a parent does with a young child.

Deuteronomy 32:10-11:

“He found them wandering through the desert,

a desolate, wind-swept wilderness.

He protected them and cared for them,

as he would protect himself.

Like an eagle teaching its young to fly, catching them safely on its spreading wings, the Lord kept Israel from falling. GNT

God declares they won’t return to Egypt but the Assyrians will rule over them because they refuse to repent. The sword of Assyria will destroy their cities because they trusted their counsel and not God’s.

Israel is ‘bent on backsliding’ (vs 7) and even though they call to God, they don’t exalt Him.

My people are bent on backsliding from Me. Though they call to the Most High, None at all exalt Him. (vs 7, NKJV)

It looks like God isn’t willing to completely give Israel up to Assyria. His heart aches for them and He feels sympathy for them.

Because of His Holiness, God decides not to release His anger on Ephraim and completely destroy them.

The Lord ‘will roar like a lion’ (vs 10) and then His people will come after Him in fear and with trembling.

Isaiah 31:4: The Lord said to me, “No matter how shepherds yell and shout, they can’t scare away a lion from an animal that it has killed; in the same way, there is nothing that can keep me, the Lord Almighty, from protecting Mount Zion.

Then God ‘will let them dwell in their houses’ (vs 11). They will be allowed in their own land again, brought out of Egypt and Assyria.

At the end of the chapter, God charges Israel and Ephraim with lies and deceit but declares that Judah still walks with Him and that He is Holy and faithful.

Israel and Judah Are Condemned

12 The Lord says, “The people of Israel have surrounded me with lies and deceit, and the people of Judah are still rebelling against me, the faithful and holy God.

What did you think of this chapter? Let me know in the comments below! We’re almost done with Hosea. Finally. 🙂

We see here that Israel has taken all of the fruit for himself and increased the altars. As there is only one God, they only need one altar. But they are back to their old idolatrous ways. Pillars are erected and embellished according to the bounty of Israel. The bounty God gave them but they aren’t giving Him the glory and credit.

The heart of Israel is divided between idols and against the Lord who rescued them from slavery. He holds them guilty, of course. They have sinned and they must pay for it. God will destroy their altars and pillars they have for their false gods.

2 Kings 17:3-4: Emperor Shalmaneser of Assyria made war against him; Hoshea surrendered to Shalmaneser and paid him tribute every year. But one year Hoshea sent messengers to So, king of Egypt, asking for his help, and stopped paying the annual tribute to Assyria. When Shalmaneser learned of this, he had Hoshea arrested and put in prison. GNT

They say they have no king and even if they did, what use would he be to them? They don’t fear the Lord and they’ve lied. A king anointed by God is of no use to the Israelites. Judgement will come upon them for their evil ways.

Because of their idols, Samaria lives in fear. Shame will come upon Israel and Ephraim because of idols and unwise counsel. The idol will be carried to Assyria and will increase their shame.

1 Kings 13:34: This sin on his part brought about the ruin and total destruction of his dynasty. GNT

Samaria and Israel will be cut off and destroyed due to their sin. Their altars will be overrun with weeds and thorns. In their anguish, they will want the mountains to fall on and destroy them.

Isaiah 2:19: People will hide in caves in the rocky hills or dig holes in the ground to try to escape from the Lord’s anger and to hide from his power and glory, when he comes to shake the earth. GNT

The Israelites have sinned for a long time so when God desires, He will punish them. Other nations will gather against them and bind them. The Israelites will be in slavery once more for their wickedness.

Jeremiah 50:11: The Lord says, “People of Babylonia, you plundered my nation. You are happy and glad, going about like a cow threshing grain or like a neighing horse, GNT

He will cause the Israelites to work and plow. Despite telling them to sow righteousness in order to reap mercy, they plow wickedness, reap iniquity and eat the fruit of lies.

Job 4:8: I have seen people plow fields of evil and plant wickedness like seed; now they harvest wickedness and evil. GNT

Because of their sin and trust in themselves instead of God, He will destroy them, cut them off and dash them to pieces.

Sorry it took so long to post chapter 10! Blogging and babies do not go hand in hand! 😀 I’m finding time to do little bits here and there now that she’s older. So tell me what you think of chapter 10 in the comments!

Hosea asks them what they will do during the appointed feasts and feast days of the LORD. It seems like they don’t observe the feasts and holidays that God set forth for them to celebrate, either.

The people of Israel and Ephraim are gone, taken by Egypt, for ‘destruction’. Their homes and possessions are overtaken by weeds and undergrowth.

Hosea 9:6 ‘For indeed they are gone because of destruction.

Egypt shall gather them up;

Memphis shall bury them.

Nettles shall possess their valuables of silver;

Thorns shallbe in their tents.’ NKJV

The day of reckoning is upon Israel. And they know it. The greatness of their sin and the enmity of the Israelites has driven the prophet(s) of God insane.

Enmity means a feeling or condition of hostility; hatred; ill will; animosity; antagonism. So the hostile nature the Israelites have picked up against God has made His prophets crazy. I can’t imagine why…*insert eye roll here*. They were told again and again to change, brought out of Egypt by miraculous means, and still turned against the One Who saved them. If that doesn’t drive a prophet crazy, I don’t know what will!

Micah 7:4: ‘The best of them is like a brier; The most upright is sharper than a thorn hedge; The day of your watchman and your punishment comes; Now shall be their perplexity.’ NKJV

Luke 21:22: ‘For these are the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled.’ NKJV

The one who guarded Ephraim is now with God. The false prophets they have now ensnare them, bringing more enmity between God and the Israelites.

Ezekiel 33:7: ‘“So you, son of man: I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore you shall hear a word from My mouth and warn them for Me.’ NKJV

They are corrupted and evil like ‘in the days of Gibeah’ (vs 9). God will remember their sins and punish them for it!

Judges 19:22: ‘As they were enjoying themselves, suddenly certain men of the city, perverted men, surrounded the house and beat on the door. They spoke to the master of the house, the old man, saying, “Bring out the man who came to your house, that we may know him carnally!”’ NKJV

The days of Gibeah. Wow. I read more than just the verse referenced here and was shocked and disgusted by the way these people acted. If the Israelites during the time of Hosea acted like this too, then no wonder the prophets went crazy and God punished them so badly!

God found Israel and their fathers in the wilderness like fresh first fruits: unblemished and untarnished by the world. ‘But they went to Baal Peor’ (vs 10) and became like the abominations He loathed.

Numbers 25:3: ‘So Israel was joined to Baal of Peor, and the anger of the Lord was aroused against Israel.’ NKJV

Ephraim’s glory is gone forever, flown away like a bird. None of the women are getting pregnant or having babies.

They bring up the children they have but are ‘bereaved’ and deprived to the last one. God declares ‘woe to them’ when He leaves them (vs 12).

Deuteronomy 31:17: ‘Then My anger shall be aroused against them in that day, and I will forsake them, and I will hide My face from them, and they shall be devoured. And many evils and troubles shall befall them, so that they will say in that day, ‘Have not these evils come upon us because our God is not among us?’’ NKJV

Even though Ephraim was ‘planted in a pleasant place’ (vs 13) and are God’s people, they sacrifice their children. The ritual killing of children is abhorrent in God’s sight and He never asked His people to do something so heinous. But they are and to idols, false gods that don’t exist.

So Hosea asks the Lord what He will give His people that have gone astray. Miscarriage and dry breasts are part of their punishment. They have no children to nurse and therefore no reason to nurse.

Because of their wickedness, evil deeds, and rebellion in Gilgal, God has hated them and will drive them from His house. He no longer loves His people because they’ve turned away. Even their princes are rebels against God.

Isaiah 1:23: ‘Your princes are rebellious, And companions of thieves; Everyone loves bribes, And follows after rewards. They do not defend the fatherless, Nor does the cause of the widow come before them.’ NKJV

God has stricken Ephraim with infertility and miscarriages.

How very sad. And what a curse for a time like that. Even now, infertility and miscarriages are sad. In a time when children were known as a blessing from God and infertility a curse, this must have been very difficult. Children were the ones that helped care for the family and herds. They were an inheritance and kept the lands in the family.

So God casts His people away for their disobedience and causes them to be ‘wanderers among the nations’ (vs 17).

2 Kings 17:20: ‘And the Lord rejected all the descendants of Israel, afflicted them, and delivered them into the hand of plunderers, until He had cast them from His sight.’ NKJV

What are your thoughts on Hosea chapter 9? Share them in the comments below!

Wow. Hosea has told us that Israel is leaving and has left the Lord and here he tells us that they have completely deserted Him.

My guess here is ‘he’ refers to the Assyrians or the king of Assyria. Because of the Israelites rebellion and transgression, he will come against the house of the Lord.

Deuteronomy 28:49: ‘The Lord will bring a nation against you from afar, from the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flies, a nation whose language you will not understand,’ NKJV

So Israel cried out to God but they did so in vain. They claimed to know God but actions speak louder than words. You can’t claim to know God and be one of His people and then not follow His commands and do the opposite of what He requires you to do.

Then they sought to be with God and be under His protection but it was too late.

Psalm 78:34: ‘When He slew them, then they sought Him; And they returned and sought earnestly for God.’ NKJV

So Israel’s enemies pursued them because they rejected God and what was good for them.

Without God’s input and blessings, the people of Israel set up kings and princes. But the Lord didn’t acknowledge them. The Israelites created idols of silver and gold so God cut them off from Himself.

God rejects the idols because they are merely statues. He is furious with the Israelites for breaking His commandments. Hosea tells us that God wonders when they will attain their innocence again.

Jeremiah 13:27: ‘I have seen your adulteries And your lustful neighings, The lewdness of your harlotry, Your abominations on the hills in the fields. Woe to you, O Jerusalem! Will you still not be made clean?”’ NKJV

Workmen of Israel created the idols that will soon be broken to pieces. Just as Israel will be torn apart and become slaves, so too will their idols. The idol statues will soon be non-existent.

The Israelites plant nothing but wind so nothing will come of it. But if something does, the people of Samaria and Israel won’t eat the harvest, foreigners will.

Proverbs 22:8: ‘He who sows iniquity will reap sorrow, And the rod of his anger will fail.’ NKJV

Useless and empty, the Israelites are taken by the Gentiles and are swallowed up and among them.

Jeremiah 25:34: ‘“Wail, shepherds, and cry! Roll about in the ashes, You leaders of the flock! For the days of your slaughter and your dispersions are fulfilled; You shall fall like a precious vessel.’ NKJV

The Israelites are in Assyria, captured to be slaves. They are ‘like a wild donkey alone by itself’ (vs 9).

Jeremiah 2:24: ‘A wild donkey used to the wilderness, That sniffs at the wind in her desire; In her time of mating, who can turn her away? All those who seek her will not weary themselves; In her month they will find her.’ NKJV

The Israelites are like a donkey, calling out for mates and following their fleshly desires instead of God’s commands.

Ephraim hired lovers, becoming adulterers. They are so mired down in sin and adultery they paid to be adulterers and idolaters rather than being paid like a prostitute.

Ezekiel 16:33-34: ‘Men make payment to all harlots, but you made your payments to all your lovers, and hired them to come to you from all around for your harlotry. You are the opposite of other women in your harlotry, because no one solicited you to be a harlot. In that you gave payment but no payment was given you, therefore you are the opposite.”’ NKJV

They hired themselves out to other nations and idols and God gathers them together. The evil done by the princes and kings that were not blessed by God will cause them sorrow.

The altars of sin the people of Ephraim created have ruined them. Their apostasy is their downfall.Wandering from God now will cause us to fall into sin as well and if we don’t change our ways, our sin will give birth to death. So if you feel far from God, or know that you have fallen, repent and follow hard after God! Before you’re melted in the fire!

Despite knowing His laws, the Israelites considered the great things of God strange. They decided the false idols and evil practices of those around them and in the land before them were better than what God had planned for them.

Deuteronomy 4:6-8: ‘Therefore be careful to observe them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples who will hear all these statutes, and say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’

“For what great nation is there that has God so near to it, as the Lord our God is to us, for whatever reason we may call upon Him? And what great nation is there that has such statutes and righteous judgments as are in all this law which I set before you this day?’ NKJV

They don’t sacrifice by God’s standards and requirements so He doesn’t accept them. He will punish them because of that, remembering their sins and sending them back to Egypt. They chose to be slaves to their sin instead of servants of the Most High so they became slaves to foreigners.

Jeremiah 14:10: ‘Thus says the Lord to this people: “Thus they have loved to wander; They have not restrained their feet. Therefore the Lord does not accept them; He will remember their iniquity now, And punish their sins.”’ NKJV

When they forgot God their Maker, Israel built temples to foreign gods and idols. Even Judah has fortified multiple cities, presumably from foreigners. They trust in themselves and their walls instead of in the One Who rescued them and freed them. But God will send fire upon those cities and devour them.

Deuteronomy 32:18: ‘Of the Rock who begot you, you are unmindful, And have forgotten the God who fathered you.’ NKJV

Hosea shows us the reality of sin and straying from God. When the Israelites flat out left Him, it destroyed them, but not right away. The sin you are in or keep coming back to will hurt or destroy you in the end, unless you repent and change your ways.

What did you think of Hosea chapter 8? Share your thoughts in the comment section below!